TOW BAR FITTING DIY

[WHI87D68]

Dear All,
Just fitted a Towsure (non VW) tow bar and electrics to my Reg. The mechanicals was easy (x5 screws in each wheel arch / x5 below bumper and two under each light cluster - note i did slightly crack a light as it is difficult to pull them out of the knuckle).4 bolts each side to fit the towbar once removing the existing crash impact bar. I did cut the bumper.

Electrics i used two units 1 for the normal trailer functions and the other for the ancillaries for a caravan (fridge etc). I had to bring two live feeds from the fuse panel (under steering wheel in RH drive model), one permanent and the other switched (l cut into the feed cables to the fuse panel).

Some trim had to be loosened, rear boot panel, boot silver panel to get the live feed to the cotrol box and l/h turn signal and lights.

The one mistake i made was to use an earth bolt located at the bottom of the r/h boot pocket that connects a number of earths to the chassis for the earth on the tow bar module. Doing this l caused an earth fault to register on the air bag system.

I suggest when connecting earthing for your tow bar avoid touching any existing earth points. Simply use a screw / bolt with nothing else connected that is connected to the chassis.

I had to take the reg to VW for the alarm to be reset!!

Otherwise it took me a day to fit, the hardest part of the job was running the live feeds from the fuse board to the rear of the car and not knackering any of the trim.

Cost approx £100 tow bar / £100 detachable tow bar unit / £30 smart relay wiring kit (including both modules) all from towsure UK.

And yes my reg tows my caravan beautifully, abait at 22mpg...
All the best

D

[aircooled]

FYI, this the procedure for the European market, not the US market. Great write up for an aftermarket install. However, you probably could have saved you self some grief on the 12V run for the caravan electrics. All the wiring you needed should have been located in the rear compartment.